HALL-EFFECT ANALYSIS OF LIQUID-PHASE EPITAXY SILICON FOR THIN-FILM SOLAR-CELLS

We use variable temperature Hall effect measurements to determine the doping concentration, impurity compensation, and mobility of n- and p-type liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) silicon layers that are grown from indium solutions onto silicon substrates. Our theoretical analysis of carrier concentration versus temperature data considers temperature-dependent effective masses, Fermi-Dirac statistics, multiple majority impurity levels, excited impurity states, and the temperature dependence of the Hall scattering factor. The measured Hall mobilities and computed compensation ratios in these LPE silicon thin films are within the range of values that have been measured in bulk silicon crystals. Such LPE layers are therefore suitable for the fabrication of high efficiency silicon thin film solar cells.